Hyundai Heavy Industries President Joo Won-ho, sixth from left, and Irving Shipbuilding President Dirk Lesko, sixth from right, pose with senior executives from both firms in front of a bust sculpture of Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung at Hyundai Heavy Industries’ headquarters in Ulsan in May.
Major shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries has cemented its ties with key shipyards in Canada as the Korean firm’s consortium seeks to win Canada’s $40 billion submarine construction project.
The company said Thursday that Park Yong-yeol, head of its Naval Ship Division, met with Davie Shipbuilding CEO James Davies at the Canadian firm’s office in Ottawa, Ontario. Established in the early 1900s, Davie Shipbuilding is Canada’s largest shipbuilder, with a portfolio ranging from icebreakers to maritime plants and combat support ships.
Hyundai Heavy Industries said Park and Davies discussed how collaboration between the two companies can improve the Canadian shipbuilding sector. The Korean firm said that potential cooperation with Davie Shipbuilding, which has a subsidiary shipyard in Helsinki, will be able to use the Finnish operation to expand the pair’s global markets to the northern hemisphere.
Hyundai Heavy Industries, which is jointly pursuing Canada’s submarine project with Hanwha Ocean under a consortium, proposed a supplementary business package worth trillions of won to the Canadian government in January on the sidelines of the bidding process.
The proposal included importing crude oil from a Canadian company through Hyundai Oilbank, transferring shipbuilding technologies for commercial and naval vessels to Canadian shipyards and providing consulting services for submarine maintenance and repair.
The meeting between Park and Davies came after Canada on Saturday (local time) witnessed a Korean submarine complete its longest undersea journey from South Gyeongsang Province in Korea to Victoria, British Columbia, demonstrating its operational capabilities.
ROKS Dosan An Chang-ho traveled 14,000 kilometers before reaching Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, where it was welcomed by the Canadian Navy, the Korean ambassador to Canada and Hyundai Heavy Industries President Joo Won-ho.
Earlier this month, Dirk Lesko, president of Irving Shipbuilding in Nova Scotia, visited Hyundai Heavy Industries’ headquarters in Ulsan to check the Korean firm’s manufacturing capabilities and latest technologies. Irving Shipbuilding is one of Canada’s three largest shipbuilders and has been building combat ships for the Canadian Navy.
“We are aligning our efforts with Canada’s leading shipyards, including Davie Shipbuilding and Irving Shipbuilding, to share mutual capabilities and expand our business presence in the shipbuilding and naval vessel sectors,” Joo said.
“By taking the lead in shipbuilding cooperation with Canada, we will do our utmost to help ‘K-Defense One Team’ secure the Canadian submarine project.”
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